1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to capturing and processing digital images and, in particular, to a system and method for bookmarking digital images.
2. Related Art
With the advent of digitally-based image capturing devices capable of “photographing” an image and providing the image in a digital data format, a digital “photograph” of the image may be processed using computer systems that execute logic configured to manipulate the digital data corresponding to the image. Such computer systems include readily available commercial processors, such as the well-known personal computer (PC), or proprietary processing systems specially dedicated to the processing of digital images.
For example, an individual may capture still images of a special event, such as a wedding, using a commercially available digital camera. The individual typically would, at a later time, process the image on their PC using a commercially-available digital image processing program. The individual would download the images captured and stored in the digital camera into the PC memory. The individual then selectively orders the images, such as in a time sequence or event occurrence sequence. Also, the individual may optionally perform various image processing functions, such as, but not limited to, resizing the image, adding borders to the image, cropping out portions of the image, adding meta-data to the image, etc. After the digital images have been downloaded to the PC memory, and processed if desired, one or more images may be transmitted to others via e-mail or uploaded onto another media, such as a floppy disk.
If, for example, at the wedding, several individuals captured digital still images, each using their own digital still camera, the individuals could choose to download all of the captured digital images (or selected images) into the memory of one PC. Then, the group of digital still images could be processed as a coherent grouping of images to memorialize the wedding. Such a coherent grouping of still images could then be published into a wedding album or e-mailed to others for viewing.
However, processing the aggregation of the many digital still images, particularly when the images are captured by different individuals at different times using their own cameras, is a tedious, time-consuming manual process. The person processing the aggregation of digital still images typically would, at some point in the process of creating the desired coherent grouping of images, time order the images and/or order the digital still images according to event occurrences. For example, the person may manually select all digital still images of the bride walking down the aisle, and then arrange in a time order each of the selected digital still images. Then, the most desirable images of the bride walking down the aisle could be selected to best memorialize that portion of the wedding.
Unfortunately, such a process of selecting all of the relevant digital still images from a large data base of digital still images, and then time ordering the digital still images, requires a considerable amount of time and concentration on the part of the person processing the digital still images. Furthermore, the process is subject to a great degree of error in that the digital still images may not be correctly sequenced. Also, some digital still images may be inadvertently omitted during the initial identification and selection of images memorializing the predefined occurrence when there are a great number of images to consider, and/or if the visual queues associating the digital still image(s) to the predefined occurrence are not readily discernible to the person organizing the images.
Furthermore, digital image capturing and processing technology has advanced such that image capturing devices are able to capture video information. For example, a plurality of digital video capturing devices are typically used to capture images of a special event, such as a football game, using commercially available video cameras or specially fabricated digital motion picture cameras. When the digital video images are rapidly processed for a television broadcast of the football game, the ability to quickly identify and retrieve specific images, video or still, associated with a predefined occurrence in the event, such as a touchdown, is desirable.
For example, the broadcaster may desire to compare the just-completed touchdown by a famous player with a video clip of similar touchdown made by that player in a game three weeks ago. Finding, and then retrieving, the video clips of the two touchdowns must be made accurately and quickly if such video clips are to be useful to the viewing audience.